Suit opens 'fat fingers' trap for 800 numbers

Published: Saturday, May 18, 2002

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP)  Calling collect? Just be sure not to misdial the number for the long-distance carrier.

More than 90 phone numbers that are just digits away from toll-free service numbers  like 1-800-COLLECT or 1-800-CALL-ATT  are operated by a company that charges as much as three times the rates of WorldCom Inc. or AT&T Corp., according to a lawsuit filed in New York.

The company that operates those numbers, the lawsuit alleges, is Overland Park-based Sprint Corp., the nation's third-largest long-distance carrier.

The lawsuit claims Sprint even runs variations of its own 1-800-ONE-DIME and 1-800-FON-CALL.

The lawsuit  filed by New York City resident Joel Drizin in January after he received a $16.42 bill for a four-minute call from his brother-in-law in New Jersey  alleges that Sprint, through its subsidiary ASC Telecom Inc., uses "deceptive business practices" to defraud customers.

"It was an obvious scam. I don't like to be taken," said Drizin, who claims his brother-in-law was trying to use WorldCom, which would have charged just $6.19 for the call last November.

The practice of misdialing or misspelling phone numbers is known in the telecommunications industry as "fat fingers" dialing.

Sprint claims that neither it nor ASC actually owns the numbers, though it would not disclose who does. The company said it legally operates the numbers for others.

The Federal Communi cations Commission has received complaints about companies that own these 1-800 numbers, said Robert Mirelson, deputy bureau chief for consumer affairs.

But he refused to name those companies.

Mirelson said the FCC has asked some companies "to be more forthcoming" when people call.

The agency also is warning consumers about the practice.

Callers should hang up and redial if they don't reach an operator, or if the operator won't identify the company, Mirelson said.